#Politicon 2016- What an experience! Part 1

For the first time in my life, I applied for a Press Pass using my credentials as a political writer. I was granted access to this year’s Politicon, the unconventional political convention. I had one of the best times of my life. The Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California was packed with eight thousand attendees. There were people from all across the political aisles, from Never Trumpers, to Hillary supporters, Bernie marchers, Trump fans, and just plain independents were together for a fun weekend.

On Day One, I entered the press room where I met a reporter from the School of Doodle, a feminist online magazine. Being from Red Millennial, I was on the “other side,” but she and I entered a friendly dialogue and she even interviewed me for her piece. Right off the bat, I was having a good time.

I headed to the opening with Libertarian Party nominee and former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson who relied on his stump speech instead of welcoming us to Politicon. He gave his stump speech which only proved that Austen Petersen should have been picked.

The panel was a line-up of all-star Pro-Life icons who have done so much for the side of life. According to the moderator, several pro-choice advocates were invited, but refused to attend. With the way the panel handled hostile questions from so-called feminists, I cannot say I am surprised.

Afterwards, I was able to get pictures with Dr. King and Jill Stanek. You can see them in the gallery below.

In between that and my next panel, I interviewed several of the vendors in an effort to find out more about them and why they were there. I spoke with Revolution LA, a pro-Bernie Sanders group that is still mad that Hillary Clinton beat him to the Democratic nomination. They were were not like the ones the media love to trot out. I spoke with a pleasant young woman named Trinity. She was kind, cordial, and friendly and though we disagreed, we had a pleasant conversation.

For fun, I visited a the NBC Decision booth where they had a “secret confession” box where you could write or record your election “sin.” I participated, as to what I said, that is between me and the voicemail I spoke into.

One of the coolest booths I visited was for an app called Voter. I spoke with Jonathan Herrera who is a research associate for the Voter app. It does not help you vote in elections, but helps you find the candidate you most identify with so you can vote for them at the ballot box. It has an “issue” quiz where it asks you where you stand on each one. It uses an algorithm to calculate which candidate you most identify with. It is nonpartisan so it does not take political party into account. Right now, it is only for iPhone, but they are developing it for Android users.

The next panel was a “Tons of Guns” panel featuring Dana Loesch, former NPR host and bestselling author Ken Rudin, actor John Ratzenberger, and Townhall columnist Guy Bensen, and moderated by Darnell Moore. Rudin and Moore were obviously against citizens having guns. However, they could not against the onslaught of facts from the pro-gun panelists, especially Loesch who literally wrote the book on guns Hands Off My Gun.

Afterwards, I headed to the book signing of Dana Loesch’s Flyover Nation where I was able to briefly speak with her and got a photograph with her after she signed my copy. She and her husband Chris Loesch were both friendly and cordial. I had a great time.

I finished out the day by heading to “In Conversation With Glenn Beck” a Q&A type event. Beck is one of my heroes and it was electrifying to hear him live. He handled all question with grace and ease, showing such patience to the Trump supporters who obviously had an ax to grind. I got in line to ask a question, but they stopped as soon as I got up to speak. Though I did not get to ask him a question, I still had a great time.

I left full of excitement for the next day. Though I found out that to get to the VIP room, I needed a purple pass, (mine was black), I would still have an adventure in the VIP room the next day. Be sure to subscribe to hear part 2 and check out the gallery below.

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